Baby's First Boo-Boo (Big Red gets hurt)

[ponta2147]

Well, it was only a matter of time before something like this happened: We aren't sure when it happened- Chris is guessing it happened when he had the car onsite for a job, someone must have backed into it in the parking lot. Of course, no one took ownership of it, not even a "Derp, I backed into your car!" note. Sigh.There are some very small dents and scratches in the bumper below it, but nothing I can't live with. I just feel lucky that none of the lights or casings themselves got damaged, and there is only a tiny chip out of the black/grey plastic backing of the taillight. Hopefully this will not be too complex to fix- I'll have the dealer order and repair it. Until then, I'm not washing the car (obviously) and it's going to live in the garage in case of rain... I don't really want water getting in there.

[Salsa Guy]

real bummer dude. Hope you get fixed soon.

[vibenvy]

Quote, originally posted by rmkinjr »real bummer dudette.Fixed it for ya .That sucks Michelle . At least it wasn't any worse and no one was hurt (although someone would have gotten hurt had you seen who done it ).Let me know when you want to get together so I can give you your 3rd brake light. If you want, I could just come to your place and install it for you. It literally took five minutes just like Tim said it would . Or I have the instructions he sent, along with the screws and even the drill bit if you want to do it yourself. Let me know .

[KITT222]

Ouch! That's not fun. Some packing tape might look bad, but it'd help keep moisture out.

[ponta2147]

Quote, originally posted by J_TO_ENVY »Let me know when you want to get together so I can give you your 3rd brake light. Any time this week is good for me. Message me with when you're available and we'll go from there. Maybe we'll do lunch or dinner or something!

[vibenvy]

Quote, originally posted by ponta2147 »Any time this week is good for me. Message me with when you're available and we'll go from there. Maybe we'll do lunch or dinner or something! Will do !

[808 Vibes]

I'm sorry Is there a camera in the parking lot? I hope karma comes to the guilty dummy...and fast!

[lovemyraffe]

Karma is a...oops, sorry forgot this is a family friendly forum

[tpollauf]

Michell. I guess you could consider yourself lucky as they only cracked the tail light lens, as far as major damage goes A door, fender, or 1/4 panel would cost more and when painted, rarely is an exact match to the rest of the car. If you have a high deductible ($500 or more) then buy the part yourself and it's a simple swap-out. Otherwise, like you're already planning to do, have the dealership or a reputable body shop take care of it for you. Let us know how all turns out

[star_deceiver]

OUCH!!!I'm not sure if I want to know what a new tail light assembly will cost and parts availibility.

[ponta2147]

Quote, originally posted by tpollauf »Michell. I guess you could consider yourself lucky as they only cracked the tail light lens, as far as major damage goes A door, fender, or 1/4 panel would cost more and when painted, rarely is an exact match to the rest of the car. If you have a high deductible ($500 or more) then buy the part yourself and it's a simple swap-out. Otherwise, like you're already planning to do, have the dealership or a reputable body shop take care of it for you. Let us know how all turns out $500 is the deductible, wasn't even planning on getting insurance involved. I'm having the dealer deal with it because a) car is under warranty and don't want anything to mess that up, and b) this part needs to be sealed water-tight, and I want to make sure that's done right (or have someone ELSE to blame, and make them fix it, if it isn't done right )

[tpollauf]

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver »OUCH!!!I'm not sure if I want to know what a new tail light assembly will cost and parts availibility. A small chunk of change ($177.59) but plenty of them available. https://www.partswebsite.com/g...parts

[ponta2147]

If I have to replace the entire taillight instead of just the cover, I am going to ask for the broken one back for use as parts/experiments

[Zimm]

wow, they go for that much? i had a right side taillight assembly replaced from a similar incident-although i had more body damage and less damage to the light. the dealer actually had problems getting the light assembly, so they rubbed out the smudging of the plastic in the "damaged" one while i waited for the replacement to come in. it looks absolutely new-only some very minor flaws are visible if your really look up close and catch the light just right. maybe i should snap a pic and put it in the "for sale" area...Quote, originally posted by tpollauf »A small chunk of change ($177.59) but plenty of them available. https://www.partswebsite.com/g...parts

[tpollauf]

Quote, originally posted by ponta2147 » I am going to ask for the broken one back for use as parts/experiments Now you're talking my language I can see the tail light mod bug in you and the infinite possibilities that could exist. I'm right there with you girl

[LavaIlliniVibe]

Just thought I would let you know... I was following a car that ran over debris in the road. The debris flew back on to my bumper, and I also ran over it. The debris made a hole in my front lower bumper and ripped the cover under the front of my precious little Vibe.I turned the claim into my insurance company and they said that the bumper needed to be replaced. I took my Vibe to a body shop and they ordered the bumper. This is then what I was told: Long story short--it took about a month for the body shop to convince the genuine GM parts place in Michigan to release a new bumper to them to fix my car. Because Pontiac is "gone" there are only a certain amount of replacement parts. This is what I was told. So they had to be convinced that I really needed a new bumper. I guess this finally happened as I got the bumper and my lovely Vibe is good as new. The body shop said they were still waiting on something for a Pontiac Grand Am from a wreck in December, and the service manager at my GM dealer said they had a GranPrix that needed a part and they couldn't get it/were having problems. Just FYI--hope your Vibes don't ever need a new part--and I was wondering if anyone had a similar experience. Peace, Love, Vibe!

[LavaIlliniVibe]

PS: I KEPT MY OLD BUMPER! IT IS IN MY GARAGE... I've started my own stockpile LOL

[ponta2147]

Wow I obviously haven't posted in a while... got the light replaced, and the old one is in a box in my garage right now.

[vibenvy]

Quote, originally posted by LavaIlliniVibe »Just thought I would let you know... I was following a car that ran over debris in the road. The debris flew back on to my bumper, and I also ran over it. The debris made a hole in my front lower bumper and ripped the cover under the front of my precious little Vibe.I turned the claim into my insurance company and they said that the bumper needed to be replaced. I took my Vibe to a body shop and they ordered the bumper. This is then what I was told: Long story short--it took about a month for the body shop to convince the genuine GM parts place in Michigan to release a new bumper to them to fix my car. Because Pontiac is "gone" there are only a certain amount of replacement parts. This is what I was told. So they had to be convinced that I really needed a new bumper. I guess this finally happened as I got the bumper and my lovely Vibe is good as new. The body shop said they were still waiting on something for a Pontiac Grand Am from a wreck in December, and the service manager at my GM dealer said they had a GranPrix that needed a part and they couldn't get it/were having problems. Just FYI--hope your Vibes don't ever need a new part--and I was wondering if anyone had a similar experience. Peace, Love, Vibe! It must depend on the body shop and maybe the area as well. Back in March, my mom hit a cat in her '09 GT. It completely ripped the entire driver's side fog light housing, including the bulb, out along with the small grille insert right next to the fog light and put a small crack in the underside of the bumper cover. The body shop replaced the bumper cover with a brand new one, along with a brand new fog light housing, grille insert and arrowhead badge for the bumper cover. Everything was painted and done in about three days. They didn't have any problem getting brand new parts.Quote, originally posted by ponta2147 »Wow I obviously haven't posted in a while... got the light replaced, and the old one is in a box in my garage right now. Glad to hear Big Red is back to normal Michelle !

[tpollauf]

Quote, originally posted by LavaIlliniVibe »PS: I KEPT MY OLD BUMPER! IT IS IN MY GARAGE... I've started my own stockpile LOL Amen You should see my garage/basement/attic Parts galore !!!!! If its not a circuit board to a Carrrier furnace, then it's a power window assembly off of a '79 Cadillac, or the DuPont products needed for some serious body work, and NOW several LED's for my latest future mods There is a "pac rat" in all of us. Just need to keep the wife away from this stuff. She likes to "clean house" when I'm not around and that has caused some problems in the past